Rare lancetfish washes up in Nags Head

WASHINGTON – A rarely-encountered and rather scary-looking fish washed up on a beach in Nags Head on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, a North Carolina television station reported.

The fish was still alive, according to Jennette’s Pier officials, and a North Carolina Aquarium employee photographed it and released it back to the ocean, North Carolina’s Fox 8 reported.

Lancetfish are predatory fish that live all over the world in oceans, but the deep sea fish are rarely seen by humans. They often grow to more than 6-feet in length, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

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